How We Fight Our Battles
Are you fighting a battle right now? A few weeks ago, the Lord told me He was going to teach me about what it looks like to have the Lord fight my battles. The first thing He prompted me to do was look up the word "fight." In Strong's Concordance, the first word I found was "machomai." This word means everything you would expect fight to mean. It depicts a hard struggle that expends much energy, a hand-to-hand struggle, or even an argument (battle of the mind).
The interesting thing about this word is that it is not the word used when the Bible talks about the Lord fighting for us. Yet this is so often how we approach our battles. We exert a lot of energy, we attempt to gain power over the attacks, and we argue with the enemy. In this way, we are tricked into a power struggle that actually doesn't even exist.
Luke 10:19 reminds us of this: "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." All power means all! In our battles, the enemy has already been defeated. Our circumstances are nothing more than external pressures through which the enemy attempts to bait us into battles that we were never meant to fight in this way.
I then specifically looked for what word the Lord chose for "fight" when He penned these words: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14). This, and many other scriptures about the Lord fighting battles (Deuteronomy 1:30, 3:22; Joshua 10:14, etc.), uses the word "lacham," which comes from a root meaning to "use as food, eat." The word itself means "devour, eat, ever, fighting, overcome, prevail, make warring." Immediately, I heard the Lord say, "You wage war in the Kingdom by letting Me prepare a table for you." (Photo via Unsplash)
Psalm 23:5 promises that the Lord will set a table for us in the presence of our enemies. This beautiful picture illustrates what it is to be the dinner guest of the Lord while the external circumstances rage on. While we are seated as guests at the table of the Lord, the enemy's tactics pose no threat.
Eating at the Lord's Table
It takes both peace and stillness to eat. In other words, we can't eat and be battling in the effort-exerting and mentally exhausting way the world fights. Because of this, peace and stillness are the two areas the enemy wants to attack, and both are mental postures. Peace doesn't profess that battles aren't happening, but peace draws quiet confidence from the fact that they are already won. Like watching a movie we've already seen the end of, we can know, even in times of "conflict," that the outcome is assured. God is pursuing us in every area where we've "lost our appetite" for pursuing what He has made us for. Be it because of fear, worry, a sick heart, chaos, a busy lifestyle, or a performance mentality, God wants to break off what made us lose our appetite so that He can prepare our plate.
If you had me over to your house as a dinner guest, and I came in and immediately raided your fridge as you were cooking, it would probably be off-putting. As a guest, you expect me to come, enjoy and receive what you have prepared without feeling the need to serve myself, fix the meal or plan the evening.
God struck my heart with this modern-day parable, saying, "You so often want to fix it yourself, when I am already preparing something. You need only to listen and receive." Just like a dinner guest, He will invite us to help in areas that bless His efforts. If He hasn't given us an action directive, our well-intentioned efforts may actually be "getting in the way in the kitchen."
Trust Him with Your Battles
So what does it look like to battle in the Kingdom of Heaven? Eat at the table the Lord sets. And what does it look like to eat? "'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work'" (Luke 4:34). Jesus prayed for our daily bread – a beautiful echoing of the daily manna received in the wilderness. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
How we posture ourselves in seasons of battle is this: We receive each day what the Lord would put on our plate. We have the delight and joy of partnering in continuing the work of Jesus and in bringing God's love, Gospel and Kingdom to this earth. Each day there is a "portion" we can delightfully consume that involves doing God's will by partnering with Him on His adventures and missions. When we are delightfully digesting what the Lord is doing in and through us, we are warring in a way that is a thousand times more effective than any "battling" we could do in our own strength.
There is a "table" the Lord wants to seat you at in this season, but in order to do so, you must lay down your "battling" in the hands of the Lord. As we trust Him with our battles and receive from Him our daily feast, we will find that in seeking His Kingdom first (before the solutions to our battles), He will take care of all the rest.
Encounter Questions
Here are some questions to ask the Lord in your prayer time, and then wait for His answers:
1. What battle do I need to stop fighting and realize that You have already won?
2. What does it look like to eat instead of fight in my season?
3. What delightful things are You putting on my "plate" today that the enemy wants to distract me from?
Whatever you do, don't miss another ELIJAH LIST email! Subscribe at this link: elijahlist.com/subscribe.
Sara Whitten
Arrows of Zion
Email:Â sara@arrowsofzion.com
Website:Â www.arrowsofzion.com
Sara Whitten is an author, speaker, equipper, and founder of Arrows of Zion Ministry. She and her husband are youth pastors at Impact Christian Fellowship in Kerrville, Texas. Sara is a prophetic writer that is featured on Charisma, The Elijah List, Spirit Fuel, and more. She hosts "Hear God Every Day," a podcast with tools to help amplify the voice of God amidst the noise of everyday life. She participates in developing resources and Bible-based trainings for areas least reached by the Gospel. Sara also facilitates trainings for professionals wanting to use their business or marketplace skills for the Kingdom.
To receive more words like this in YOUR inbox, subscribe FREE to the Elijah List at this link: elijahlist.com/subscribe.
Thank you for making the always-free "Elijah Streams" possible. To partner with us, click here.
Your donations truly help us keep these emails free for you. Donate at:
Find us on:
* Facebook click here
* XAPiT click here
